JP6379560B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming equipment having a blowing portion.

  A conventional image forming apparatus has a built-in storage unit including a hard disk drive, as in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1. According to such an image forming apparatus, information can be recorded on a medium based on information stored in the hard disk drive.

  The image forming apparatus further includes a blower for cooling the hard disk drive of the storage unit. For this reason, even if the hard disk drive generates heat, the hard disk drive is cooled by the air blown from the blower, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the hard disk drive due to heat.

JP 2007-156098 A

  However, according to the storage unit of Patent Document 1, although one side surface of the hard disk drive can be cooled by the air blown from the blower unit, the side surface opposite to the one side surface cannot be sufficiently cooled. For this reason, the hard disk drive may not be sufficiently cooled.

An object of the present invention is that the effect of cooling the hard disk drive provides a higher image forming equipment.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
An image forming apparatus of an image forming apparatus that solves the above problem includes a first surface that is a pair of surfaces, a second surface opposite to the first surface, the first surface, and the second surface. A hard disk drive having a third surface and a fourth surface, which are a pair of surfaces having a larger area than the first surface, and a first wall portion facing the first surface across a space. A first side wall, a second side wall that is a wall portion facing the second surface across a space, and a wall portion facing the third surface across a space, the first wall having a hole formed therein An air passage for allowing air to flow between the main wall and the fourth surface facing the fourth surface with a space between the second main wall having a hole and the hard disk drive. A passage forming portion to be formed, and the first main wall, the first main wall being disposed so as to face the third surface; Only by having a blowing unit for blowing, and a recording section for recording on the medium based on the information stored in the hard disk drive.

  According to this image forming apparatus, the air blown by the blower passes through the hole formed in the first main wall and is applied to the third surface of the hard disk drive. That is, the air blown from the blower is directly applied to the third surface having a larger area than the first surface and the second surface. For this reason, the effect which cools a hard disk drive becomes high compared with the case where the air ventilated from the ventilation part is directly applied to a 1st surface or a 2nd surface, for example.

  In the image forming apparatus, the first main wall and the second main wall may be along a vertical direction, or the first main wall and the second main wall may be in the vertical direction. The hard disk drive is preferably arranged so as to be inclined within a predetermined angle range.

  According to the present image forming apparatus, the first main wall and the first main wall so as to incline along the vertical direction or incline with an inclination (for example, a relatively small inclination) within a predetermined angle range with respect to the vertical direction. A ventilation path is formed between the third surface and the third surface. For this reason, the flow of air formed when the air that has received heat from the third surface is about to rise is not easily disturbed, and a smooth air flow is easily formed in the ventilation path.

  In the image forming apparatus, it is preferable that the path forming unit is a case for protecting the hard disk drive, and the hard disk drive is fixed to the path forming unit.

  According to this image forming apparatus, the path forming unit also serves as a case for protecting the hard disk drive and as an object for forming an air passage around the hard disk drive. For this reason, compared with the case where it has individually the case and the object which forms a ventilation path, there are few parts.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus, a flow passage area of a first passage which is a portion formed between the first side wall and the first surface in the ventilation passage, and the ventilation passage. Of the second passage, which is a portion formed between the second side wall and the second surface, of the first main wall and the first of the ventilation paths. It is preferable that it is wider than the flow path area of the 3rd channel | path which is a part currently formed between 3 surfaces.

  According to the image forming apparatus, the bend of the passage is formed at a portion where the third passage and the first passage are joined and a portion where the third passage and the second passage are joined. For this reason, when the air blown from the air blower flows from the third passage to the first passage or the second passage, the flow direction changes greatly, and the air tends to stay. The image forming apparatus sets the flow path area as described above in consideration of such matters. For this reason, compared with the case where the channel area is not set as such, air is less likely to stay in the bent portion of the passage, and a smooth air flow is easily formed in the ventilation path.

  A storage unit that solves the above problem is a storage unit that is used in an image forming apparatus that includes a recording unit that records on a medium and a blowing unit that blows air, and includes a first surface that is a pair of surfaces and the first surface. A second surface opposite to the first surface, and a third surface and a fourth surface, which are a pair of surfaces having a larger area than the first surface and the second surface. A hard disk drive, a first side wall that is a wall facing the first surface across a space, a second side wall that is a wall facing the second surface across a space, and A wall portion facing the third surface with a space between the first main wall in which a hole is formed, and a wall portion facing the fourth surface with a space in which the hole is formed A ventilation passage for allowing air to flow between the second main wall formed and the hard disk drive. And a forming unit, receiving the air blown from the blower unit in the first main wall.

  According to the present storage unit, the air blown from the blower is directly applied to the third surface having a larger area than the first surface and the second surface. For this reason, the effect which cools a hard disk drive becomes high compared with the case where the air ventilated from the ventilation part is directly applied to a 1st surface or a 2nd surface, for example.

1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a printer according to an embodiment. The perspective view of the storage unit in the embodiment. The perspective view of the main board | substrate of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main board and the hard disk drive unit in a state where the hard disk drive unit is attached to the main board of the embodiment. The front view of the hard-disk drive unit of the embodiment. The rear view of the hard-disk drive unit of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D7-D7 in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus is embodied in an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 includes a leg portion 13 with a wheel 12 attached to the lower end, and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped device main body 14 assembled above the leg portion 13.

  A feeding unit 15 that protrudes upward is attached to the rear of the apparatus main body 14. Inside the feeding unit 15 is loaded a roll paper 110 in which a long paper 100 as an example of a medium is wound in a cylindrical shape. In the housing 16 constituting the exterior of the apparatus main body 14, an insertion port 17 for introducing the paper 100 fed from the feeding unit 15 into the inside of the housing 16 is formed at a position in front of the feeding unit 15. ing.

  On the other hand, a discharge port 18 for discharging the paper 100 to the outside of the housing 16 is formed on the front side of the apparatus main body 14. Note that a medium transport device (not shown) that transports the paper 100 fed from the feeding unit 15 from the insertion port 17 side to the discharge port 18 side is housed inside the housing 16. A medium receiving unit 19 that receives the paper 100 discharged from the discharge port 18 is attached to a position below the discharge port 18 on the front side of the apparatus main body 14.

  In addition, at the upper part of the apparatus main body 14, the user performs setting operation and input operation of the printer 11 on one end side (the right end side in FIG. 1) outside the conveyance path of the paper 100 in the longitudinal direction X of the apparatus main body 14. An operation panel 20 is attached. Furthermore, at the lower end of the apparatus main body 14, a liquid storage container 22 that stores ink as an example of liquid is disposed at one end side (the right end side in FIG. 1) that is outside the transport path of the paper 100 in the longitudinal direction X. It is attached.

  As an example, four liquid storage containers 22 are attached. The four liquid storage containers 22 store different colors of ink. The four liquid storage containers 22 are arranged so as to be aligned in the longitudinal direction X of the apparatus main body 14, thereby configuring the liquid storage unit 21. The liquid storage unit 21 has a portion exposed to the front of the apparatus main body 14 in a state where each liquid storage container 22 is fixed to the apparatus main body 14. The liquid storage unit 21 is covered with a frame member 25 having a substantially U-shaped cross section fixed to the apparatus main body 14 on both side surfaces and bottom surface of the exposed portion.

  Further, inside the housing 16, a carriage 24 on which a liquid jet head 23 as an example of a recording unit is mounted is accommodated so as to be reciprocally movable in the longitudinal direction X of the apparatus main body 14 that is the main scanning direction. Note that a liquid supply device (not shown) for supplying the ink stored in the liquid storage container 22 toward the liquid ejecting head 23 is stored in the housing 16. Then, recording (printing) is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the liquid ejecting head 23 onto the paper 100 conveyed by the medium conveying device. By such ink droplet ejection, the ink stored in the liquid storage container 22 is consumed.

Further, a storage unit 30 including a hard disk drive 91 (see FIG. 5) that stores information to be recorded on the paper 100 is disposed inside the housing 16.
As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 30 includes a rectangular parallelepiped storage box 40, a main board 50 on which a CPU for operating the printer 11 by a program of the hard disk drive 91 is mounted, and a hard disk drive unit 60 including the hard disk drive 91. Have.

  The storage box 40 stores a main board 50 and a hard disk drive unit 60 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape in an internal space. An intake fan 41 is attached to the surface of the portion of the pair of side walls 40A, 40B of the storage box 40 that faces the hard disk drive unit 60 on one side wall 40A. In the storage box 40, an exhaust fan 42 is attached to an upper portion of the front wall 40C located between the pair of side walls 40A and 40B. A plurality of exhaust ports 43 are formed around the portion of the front wall 40C of the storage box 40 where the exhaust fan 42 is attached. The intake fan 41 and the exhaust fan 42 are driven when power is supplied from the power supply of the printer 11.

  The front wall 40C of the storage box 40 is fixed to the pair of side walls 40A and 40B of the storage box 40 by screws 44 attached to the four corners. For this reason, the front wall 40C of the storage box 40 can be removed from the pair of side walls 40A and 40B by removing these screws 44. By removing the front wall 40C from the pair of side walls 40A, 40B, the space inside the storage box 40 is opened. Therefore, the user can perform maintenance of the storage unit 30 such as replacement of the hard disk drive unit 60.

  A support wall 45 that supports the hard disk drive unit 60 is attached inside the storage box 40 in parallel with the bottom wall 40D of the storage box 40. Two guide rails 46 for guiding the hard disk drive unit 60 to the main board 50 when the hard disk drive unit 60 is electrically connected to the main board 50 are attached to the support wall 45. The hard disk drive unit 60 is disposed such that its longitudinal direction is along the pair of side walls 40A, 40B of the storage box 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of electronic components such as capacitors are attached to the main board 50. A female connector 51 for electrically connecting the sub board 93 (see FIG. 5) of the hard disk drive unit 60 and the main board 50 is formed at the lower part of the main board 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hard disk drive unit 60 includes a first case 70 and a second case 80 that are combined with each other as an example of a passage forming unit. As an example, the first case 70 and the second case 80 are made of a metal material such as a steel plate. A rectangular parallelepiped hard disk drive 91, a connector 92, and a sub board 93 are disposed in an internal space formed by combining the first case 70 and the second case 80.

  The hard disk drive 91 has a larger area than the first surface 91A and the second surface 91B opposite to the first surface 91A as a pair of side surfaces, and the first surface 91A and the second surface 91B. It has a third surface 91C and a fourth surface 91D which are a pair of front surfaces. The hard disk drive 91 is fixed to the first case 70 with four screws 61.

  The connector 92 is electrically connected to a pivot assembly (not shown) inside the main body case of the hard disk drive 91. The sub board 93 is electrically connected to the connector 92. By connecting the male connector 93A formed on the sub board 93 to the female connector 51 (see FIG. 3) of the main board 50, the hard disk drive 91 and the main board 50 are electrically connected.

  The first case 70 includes a first main wall 71 which is a wall portion facing the third surface 91C of the hard disk drive 91 with a space therebetween, and a wall facing the first surface 91A of the hard disk drive 91 with a space therebetween. A first side wall 72 that is a portion, and a second side wall 73 that is a wall portion facing the second surface 91B of the hard disk drive 91 across a space.

  A plurality of holes 71 </ b> A are formed in a region of the first main wall 71 that faces the third surface 91 </ b> C of the hard disk drive 91. A hole 71 </ b> A is not formed in a region of the first main wall 71 that faces the sub-substrate 93. The first side wall 72 and the second side wall 73 are bent from the first main wall 71 toward the second case 80 (see FIG. 7).

  The second case 80 includes a second main wall 81 that is a wall portion that faces the fourth surface 91D of the hard disk drive 91 with a space therebetween, and a wall that faces the first surface 91A of the hard disk drive 91 with a space therebetween. And a second side wall 83 which is a wall portion facing the second surface 91B of the hard disk drive 91 across a space.

  In the second main wall 81, a plurality of holes 81 </ b> A are formed in a region facing the fourth surface 91 </ b> D of the hard disk drive 91. In the region of the second main wall 81 facing the sub-substrate 93, no hole 81A is formed. The first side wall 82 and the second side wall 83 are bent from the second main wall 81 toward the first case 70 (see FIG. 7). The first side wall 82 is located below the first side wall 72. The second side wall 83 is located above the second side wall 73. In the hard disk drive 91, the third surface 91C and the fourth surface 91D facing the first main wall 71 and the second main wall 81 are along the height direction (vertical direction) of the storage unit 30. Has been placed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an air passage 62 for flowing air between the first case 70 and the second case 80 and the hard disk drive 91 is formed inside the hard disk drive unit 60. The ventilation path 62 is a portion formed between the first side wall 82 and the first surface 91A, the first passage 63, and between the second side wall 83 and the second surface 91B. It includes a second passage 64 that is a formed portion. The ventilation path 62 includes a third passage 65, which is a portion formed between the first main wall 71 and the third surface 91C, and the second main wall 81 and the fourth surface 91D. And a fourth passage 66 that is a portion formed between the first and second passages. In FIG. 7, the internal structure of the hard disk drive 91 is not shown for convenience.

  The flow passage area of the second passage 64 is larger than the flow passage area of the first passage 63, the flow passage area of the third passage 65, and the flow passage area of the fourth passage 66. Further, the flow passage area of the first passage 63 is larger than the flow passage area of the third passage 65 and the flow passage area of the fourth passage 66. The flow passage area of the fourth passage 66 is wider than the flow passage area of the third passage 65. In addition, the channel area in this case means the channel area when each of the passages 63 to 66 is cut by a plane perpendicular to the direction along each surface 91A, 91B or each surface 91C, 91D of the hard disk drive 91. To do.

The operation of the storage unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the arrow of FIG. 7 has shown the image of the direction through which the air ventilated by the intake fan 41 flows.
The air blown from the intake fan 41 toward the hard disk drive unit 60 in the storage box 40 passes through the hole 71A formed in the first main wall 71 of the first case 70 and enters the third surface 91C. Reach. The air that has reached the third surface 91C flows along the third surface 91C and reaches the first passage 63 or the second passage 64. The air flowing through the first passage 63 or the second passage 64 is changed in the flow direction by the second main wall 81 and flows along the fourth surface 91D. Thus, the air that flows around the hard disk drive 91 passes through the hole 81A formed in the second main wall 81 of the second case 80, and between the hard disk drive 91 and the second case 80. Flows out of that space.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The air blown by the intake fan 41 passes through the hole 71 </ b> A formed in the first main wall 71 and is applied to the third surface 91 </ b> C of the hard disk drive 91. That is, the air blown from the intake fan 41 is directly applied to the third surface 91C having a larger area than the first surface 91A and the second surface 91B. For this reason, the effect of cooling the hard disk drive 91 is enhanced as compared with the case where the air blown from the intake fan 41 is directly applied to the first surface 91A or the second surface 91B, for example.

  (2) Each of the third surface 91C and the fourth surface 91D having a larger area than each of the first surface 91A and the second surface 91B is cooled by the air flowing therearound. For this reason, the effect of cooling the hard disk drive 91 is enhanced as compared with the case where air does not flow around one of the third surface 91C and the fourth surface 91D.

  (3) The ventilation path 62 is formed between the first main wall 71 and the third surface 91 </ b> C so as to be along the height direction (vertical direction) of the storage unit 30. For this reason, the flow of air formed when the air that has received heat from the third surface 91 </ b> C is about to rise is not easily obstructed, and a smooth air flow is easily formed in the ventilation path 62.

  (4) The first case 70 and the second case 80 as the passage forming portion serve as a case for protecting the hard disk drive 91 and serve as an object that forms the ventilation path 62 around the hard disk drive 91. Doubles as For this reason, compared with the case where it has individually the case and the object which forms a ventilation path, there are few parts.

  (5) The bend of the passage is formed at the portion where the third passage 65 and the first passage 63 merge and the portion where the third passage 65 and the second passage 64 merge. For this reason, when the air blown from the intake fan 41 flows from the third passage 65 to the first passage 63 or the second passage 64, the direction of the flow changes greatly, and the air tends to stay. Based on such matters, the storage unit 30 is configured such that the flow passage area of the first passage 63 and the flow passage area of the second passage 64 are set wider than the flow passage area of the third passage 65. Yes. For this reason, compared with the case where the channel area is not set as such, air is less likely to stay in the bent portion of the passage, and a smooth air flow is easily formed in the ventilation path 62.

  (6) There is a possibility that electromagnetic waves (noise) may be emitted from the control circuit of the control board of the hard disk drive 91. When this electromagnetic wave is propagated to the main board 50, there is a risk of affecting electronic components mounted on the main board 50. In that respect, a hole 71 </ b> A is not formed in a region of the first main wall 71 facing the sub-substrate 93. For this reason, the electromagnetic waves radiated from the control circuit of the control board of the hard disk drive 91 are easily blocked in the area of the first main wall 71 facing the sub board 93. Therefore, it is possible to suppress electromagnetic waves from affecting electronic components mounted on the main board 50.

(7) A hole 81 </ b> A is not formed in a region of the second main wall 81 that faces the sub-substrate 93. For this reason, the effect according to said (6) is acquired.
(8) Since the hard disk drive 91 is appropriately cooled by the intake fan 41, the risk of damage to the hard disk drive 91 due to heat generation of the hard disk drive 91 is reduced. For this reason, the possibility that the function as the printer 11 is impaired is also reduced, and its reliability is improved.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.
-At least one of the first case 70 and the second case 80 can be omitted. That is, the passage forming unit may not cover the entire circumference of the hard disk drive 91 as in the embodiment. The passage forming portion may have any shape that allows air to flow between it and the hard disk drive 91.

-The 1st case 70 and the 2nd case 80 can also be formed integrally.
The hard disk drive 91 can be fixed to the second case 80.
The exhaust fan 42 can be omitted.

  The hard disk drive 91 is arranged so that the first main wall 71 and the second main wall 81 are inclined with respect to the height direction (vertical direction) of the storage unit 30 within a predetermined angle range. be able to. Note that the predetermined angle range is preferably an angle range in which the flow of air formed when the air that has received heat from the third surface 91C tends to rise is less likely to be hindered.

-At least one of the flow passage area of the first passage 63 and the flow passage area of the second passage 64 can be made narrower than the flow passage area of the third passage 65.
The flow area of the fourth passage 66 can be made smaller than the flow area of the third passage 65.

  A configuration may be adopted in which an insertion slot into which the hard disk drive unit 60 is inserted is formed in the front wall 40C, and a lid for closing the insertion slot is attached. According to this configuration, when replacing the hard disk drive unit 60, the user removes the lid of the insertion slot, and attaches and removes the hard disk drive unit 60 from the main board 50 via the insertion slot.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 11 may be a printer that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink. Note that the state of liquid ejected as a minute amount of liquid droplets from the printer includes granular, tear-like, and thread-like ones. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected from the liquid ejecting head 23. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ). Further, not only a liquid as one state of a substance but also a substance in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or a metal particle are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent is included.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as an example of image forming apparatus, 23 ... Liquid ejecting head as an example of recording unit, 30 ... Storage unit, 41 ... Intake fan as an example of air blowing unit, 45 ... Support wall, 62 ... Ventilation path, 63: 1st passage, 64 ... 2nd passage, 65 ... 3rd passage, 70 ... 1st case as an example of a passage formation part, 71 ... 1st main wall, 71A ... hole, 72 ... 1st , A second side wall, 80 a second case as an example of a passage forming portion, 81 a second main wall, 81 A a hole, 82 a first side wall, 83 a second side wall, 91 ... hard disk drive, 91A ... first surface, 91B ... second surface, 91C ... third surface, 91D ... fourth surface.

Claims (6)

A first surface which is a pair of surfaces, a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a pair of surfaces having an area larger than that of the first surface and the second surface. A hard disk drive having a third surface and a fourth surface;
A first side wall having a plurality of walls facing the first surface across a space;
A second side wall having a plurality of walls facing the second surface across a space;
A wall portion facing the third surface with a space therebetween, and a first main wall in which a hole is formed;
A wall portion facing the fourth surface with a space therebetween, and a second main wall in which a hole is formed;
A passage forming part for forming a ventilation path for flowing air between the hard disk drive and the hard disk drive;
Are arranged so as to face the first main wall, a blowing unit for blowing air toward the first main wall,
A recording unit for recording on a medium based on information stored in the hard disk drive,
The third surface of the hard disk drive and the first main wall are fastened through screws ,
The hard disk drive has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
The third surface and the fourth surface are a pair of surfaces having the largest area among the surfaces constituting the hard disk drive,
The first side wall is a portion that is bent from the first main wall and extends in the air blowing direction, and a portion that is disposed between the first portion and the first surface. And a second portion bent from the second main wall and extending in a direction opposite to the direction of blowing,
The second side wall is a portion that is bent from the first main wall and extends in the blowing direction, and a portion that is disposed between the third portion and the second surface. And a fourth portion bent from the second main wall and extending in a direction opposite to the direction of blowing,
A space is formed between the first part and the second part,
A space is formed between the third part and the fourth part,
The ventilation path includes a first passage formed between the second portion and the first surface, and a second passage formed between the fourth portion and the second surface. an image forming apparatus comprising: the passageway, the. The first main wall and the second main wall are inclined along the vertical direction, or the first main wall and the second main wall are inclined with respect to the vertical direction within a predetermined angle range. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hard disk drive is arranged. The passage forming part is a case for protecting the hard disk drive;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hard disk drive is fixed to the passage forming unit. Flow passage area of the pre-Symbol first passage of said air passage, and the flow passage area of the pre-Symbol second passage of said air passage comprises a first main wall of said air passage The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is wider than a flow path area of a third passage which is a portion formed between the third surface and the third surface. Flow passage area of the pre-Symbol first passage of said air passage, and both the flow passage area of the pre-Symbol second passage of said air passage are both the first of said air passage The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is wider than a flow path area of a third passage which is a portion formed between a main wall and the third surface. The flow passage area of the third passage which is a portion formed between the first main wall and the third surface of the ventilation passage is the second main passage of the ventilation passage. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is narrower than a flow path area of a fourth passage which is a portion formed between a wall and the fourth surface.